c h a p t e r s i x t e e n

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" Yeah, I know, you have to go back to the aquarium," I said.

His eyebrows pinched together in pain.

" No, not the aquarium," he confessed.

My head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Then where are you leaving?" I asked, sounding a bit lost.

Storm released a sigh from his mouth and his ocean eyes met mine.

"Morfia isn't going to stop trying until she gets what she wants. Her coming today was a warning," he explained.

My shoulders slumped in the newfound sadness I discovered.

He was going to leave; escape the aquarium.

" You can't leave me," I protested, " especially not after what you just told me."

My eyes silently pleaded his to prove me wrong, to do anything to stop the pain that started blossoming in my chest.

You are a selfish brat, Aria.

The feeling of constriction hit me like a wave, clutching on and not letting go.

My heart started beating faster, pumping blood at a quick rate.

It took a little while for my head to finally process what I was feeling at the moment.

Fear.

Fear paralyzed my entire core.

I was afraid that my loved ones would get hurt.

Afraid that others will have to pay for my mistakes.

But most importantly, I was afraid that I would never see Storm again.

"Why?" I croaked out, so confused.

"I don't want you getting hurt. Today... I almost lost you," Storm's voice cracked," and I won't ever be able to bear the fact that you died, because of me."

I lowered my eyes.

"Does she really want to kill me?" I asked.

Silence greeted me back, confirming the assumption I wished and hoped wasn't true.

" I'm sorry you have me as a mate," I started, " I'm only causing you problems and complications."

And it was true.

I kept messing everything up, pushing the people who cared for me away and drowned in my stress knowing exactly how that state would affect everybody around me.

I felt a warm finger hook under my chin and lifting my head.

My brown eyes met his.

My breath stilled in my throat, and no matter how cliché and cheesy it sounded, the sight of Storm will never fail to impress me.

"Don't ever apologize to me, you're the best thing that happened to me," he said.

" No..." I whispered out, shaking my head. " We both know that's not true. I have been so selfish and a burden to you. Look, even now you have to solve problems that wouldn't be there if I never met you. And then there's my kind... who captured you and put you through so much pain."

" Are you kidding me right now?" Storm's voice roughened. " Were you the one who captured me?"

I shook my lowered head.

No, but people who are connected to me did.

" Did you try to push needles inside me to just see what would happen to me," Storm asked again, the anger slightly darkening his eyes.

" No, but-"

I didn't stop anything.

" Did you torture me to just see how a rock pains me from the inside?"

" I didn't but ... that's different," I said.

"No, it isn't," Storm said.

"You were the first human to show me any type of kindness instead of the pain others caused me. And you even saved me once."

My eyebrows furrowed together.

" You saved me several times, but I don't remember returning the favor," I questioned.

"When you stopped Dr. Shaun from continuing the experiment with the Black Ridge Opal. He would've exposed me to that rock for days just to turn me into a weaker state."

" It's not the same," I bluntly said.

Storm seemed exasperated by me not believing him and I saw his eyes turn a shade darker.

The color of his eyes seemed to be the color of a huge storm on an ocean. So dangerous and lethal.

"Can't you see that I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you? That you are so much different than the ones who tortured me. I love you. I love you more than this entire world and universe. "

" You... love me?" I croaked out in shock.

" Yeah, I fell in love with you from the first time your beautiful eyes landed on mine, when your lips whispered out 'mermaid' while looking at me," Storm ended, with a slight smirk on his beautiful face.

My lips parted; no words were willing to come out of my mouth.

The next moments felt like a dream.

Storm loves me?

My mind recreated all the memories I shared with the merman. The first time I saw him when Peter and James first brought him in. My mind drew the royal aura he seemed to have around him from day one.

The first time our eyes met.

The first time we interacted as I tried giving him food.

The kiss we shared after my attempt to save the man in the tank that is based on my impulses.

The time he was in pain and I stopped Dr. Shaun.

The first time he came into my room, revealing the story of his people and himself.

And many others that danced gently around memory lane.

" I know you are probably not feeling the same way about me, and I completely understand. But I just needed to let you know that you are far from all the insults you think you are. You are perfect for me," he whispered lovingly in my ear.

We were so close at that moment.

Our faces were an inch apart, our hot breaths mingling together.

Time didn't matter as I stared into his majestic eyes.

The dark blue that seemed to be there only mere seconds ago, vanished, just how clouds do before a beautiful day.

The Caribbean blue that I loved so much invaded my senses.

My eyes focused and analyzed every single speck of color in those orbs, to make sure that I will remember each flaw that made them look so perfect.

Storm closed the gap.

My eyes immediately closed on instinct.

His hot lips met mine, burning me in the best way possible.

Storm pushed against my lips, deepening the kiss.

So many sentiments were poured into that kiss.

Love. Warmth. Care.

My mind finally registered what that one kiss meant.

A goodbye kiss.

We both parted ourselves from each other, our foreheads resting against each other.

And maybe a tiny part of me already knew that I loved him too.

But I kept my mouth shut as I gazed upon his eyes for the last time, in a long time. 

hope you like this and not think it's too weird. love you guys!! remember to vote, comment your favorite parts !!

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